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| Dogwood and Cala Lily |
We had a summer like weather last week, the temperature reached to 80+degrees F! But all good things must come to an end. There is a Hakka saying “春天面時時變” (The weather in spring is unpredictable). One thing for sure spring is here, no winter wind anymore!
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| Dogwood branch, Lily and Aspidistra |
In my mind, I thought my arrangement would be placed on the Toko-no-ma (alcove). But Sensei asked me to put it up on ladder, and she said it worked, could view from below too.
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| In class 4/10/2026 |
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| Everyone placed their arrangement on the ladder, so they can viewed from below |
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| Rearranged at home 4/11/2026 |
I cut a very nice piece of forsythia branch for this basic Slanting Style, composed of Shin and Hikae and omitting Soe. I trimmed a few tiny flowers, arranged in the perfect 45 degrees of shin, and placed Cala lily in 75 degrees of Soe.
The class for April was only two weeks apart from March. The assignments were two basic styles and one free style (viewed from below). My preparation process was almost in a rush! Knowing the flower materials would be provided, all I needed looking for were the branches. I have plenty of forsythia in my yard, I have no other choice.
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| Forsythia, mum and yarrow (4/10/2026) |
In my imagination, the garden of my old house must be colorful this time of year! I really miss all the plants there. Flowers trees and bushes, Lantern Roses and Daffodils might be blooming now! A lot of plants which I planted there were used for Ikebana materials. But here in Rhinebeck my house has none of them but forsythia. Besides, weather here, everything blooming is three weeks later then Bucks County, PA.
The carnation, mum and St. John’s-wort were left over from last class (3/23/2026). They are long lasting flowers. Here is the arrangement:
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| Arranged for my own pleasure using leftover flowers |
Today (3/31/2026) is our 58th anniversary, my daughter handed me a bouquet of red roses! And we went to Osaka Japanese restaurant to have dinner with family. It’s in downtown Rhinebeck only 5 minutes away from our house. Fortunately, my husband is still around with me and family! He’s worry free and healthy. (3/31/2026)
These days, besides living my real life, I sometimes find myself drifting back into the sweet memories of my husband’s love letters decades ago. It has been helping me to care for my husband more tenderly and patiently. At the same time, it has been comforting me while I am in a melancholy mood. As the spring weather gets brighter and warmer, my husband and I would like to enjoy the walking around the neighborhood more often! As the days pass by, hopefully I could gradually come out from depression. (4/2/2026)
The DPW (Dutchess Putnam Westchester) Ikebana Sogetsu Group began its class on March 23, 2026. I jokingly thought, I had hibernated for three months! The warmer weather, longer daylight and Ikebana class are really helping my depression.
We have three lessons: (1) Basic Slanting Style Nageire, book 1-10.
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| My arrangement, boxwood and mum |
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| Sensei’s demo arrangement |
I had done this subject before in Mainline Sogetsu Branch, PA. I remembered Hata Sensei used more than two containers then. So, I would like challenge myself to use three containers this time in the DPW class. I have to use the flower materials that the class provided. If I could have prepared my own flowers, I thought I might do a better job, because of containers I brought were a little bit of a challenge for me.
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| I brought my own branches forsythia, the others were provided. |
In book 3-20, the subject was to sketch your original idea of the composition which you would like to make an arrangement of. But at the end it always looked somewhat different than you think!
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| Vine, Aspidistra and mum / ceramic |
